Filling for a bakery or chocolate product

ABSTRACT

The present invention provides a method for preparing a filled bakery product, the method comprising:
         providing a filling composition comprising at least one powdered food ingredient and a fat blend comprising from 15 to 67 wt. % of a temper hard fat and from 85 to 33 wt. % of a liquid oil,   tempering the filling composition to form a tempered filling composition,   depositing the tempered filling composition on to at least one surface of a bakery product to form a filled bakery product, wherein the surface of the bakery product has a temperature of less than 36° C., and   actively cooling the deposited filling composition,   wherein in the step of depositing the tempered filling composition, the tempered filling composition is deposited at a deposition temperature of from 20 to 33° C. and, in the step of actively cooling the deposited filling composition, the deposited filling composition is cooled to a temperature of at least 4° C. below the deposition temperature,   wherein the temper hard fat has a solid fat content of at least 60 wt. % at 20° C.,   wherein the liquid oil has a solid fat content of less than 15 wt. % at 20° C., and   wherein the fat blend has a saturated fatty acid residue content of from 16 to 42 wt. % and a polyunsaturated fatty acid residue content of less than 40 wt. %, based on the total weight of fatty acid residues of the fat blend.

The present case relates to a method for forming a filled bakery orchocolate product, in particular, a healthy filling having a lowsaturated fat content. More particularly, it relates to a filled biscuitproduct, in particular a sandwich-type, or a filled chocolate product,and to a fat blend for providing a healthier filling for the biscuit orfor chocolate products while retaining a desirable firm texture.

Biscuit or cookie products are a popular snack food and, in particular,there is a large market for layered biscuit products having a variedtexture and taste provided by a filling. It is known to provide a rangeof fillings including emulsion fillings and anhydrous fat-basedfillings. These provide a desirable mouth feel and are popularcommercial products.

However, the fillings include a fat ingredient in order to provide aworkable composition and a firm final layer within the product. The useof saturated fats in these fillings is in particular required to providea sufficient firmness, a nice melting and flavour release. However,saturated fats are known to give rise to health issues and it isdesirable to reduce the amount of such fats from the diet.

Fat blends and their use in fillings are well known in the art and arediscussed in WO2009013473, U.S. Pat. Nos. 8,182,857, 5,762,990 andWO2006136536.

WO2007090477, in particular, discloses a filling formed from a fat blendcomprising a hard fat and a liquid oil. WO2007090477 discloses anhydrousfillings containing more than 36 wt % fat. WO2007090477 also indicatesthat the saturated fat (safa) content of greater than 25 wt % isrequired to provide the solid or semi-solid texture necessary for afilling.

Therefore, one aim is to provide a fat filling that has the sameorganoleptic properties and firmness required for use in a filled bakeryproduct, which improving the healthiness of the filled bakery product,or which at least provides a method for providing a filling that tacklesthe drawbacks associated with the prior art, or provides a commerciallyuseful alternative to known methods or products.

Accordingly, in a first aspect there is provided a method for preparinga filled bakery product, the method comprising:

providing a filling composition comprising at least one powdered foodingredient and a fat blend comprising from 15 to 67 wt. % of a temperhard fat and from 85 to 33 wt. % of a liquid oil,

tempering the filling composition to form a tempered fillingcomposition,

depositing the tempered filling composition on to at least one surfaceof a bakery product to form a filled bakery product, wherein the surfaceof the bakery product has a temperature of less than 36° C., and

actively cooling the deposited filling composition,

wherein in the step of depositing the tempered filling composition, thetempered filling composition is deposited at a deposition temperature offrom 20 to 33° C. and, in the step of actively cooling the depositedfilling composition, the deposited filling composition is cooled to atemperature of at least 4° C. below the deposition temperature,

wherein the temper hard fat has a solid fat content of at least 60 wt. %at 20° C.,

wherein the liquid oil has a solid fat content of less than 15 wt. % at20° C., and

wherein the fat blend has a saturated fatty acid residue content of from16 to 42 wt. % and a polyunsaturated fatty acid residue content of lessthan 40 wt. %, based on the total weight of fatty acid residues of thefat blend.

The present disclosure will now be described further. In the followingpassages different aspects/embodiments of the disclosure are defined inmore detail. Each aspect/embodiment so defined may be combined with anyother aspect/embodiment or aspects/embodiments unless clearly indicatedto the contrary. In particular, any feature indicated as being preferredor advantageous may be combined with any other feature or featuresindicated as being preferred or advantageous.

The present disclosure relates firstly to a method for preparing afilled bakery product. Bakery products are well known and are made froma dough (typically viscous) or a batter (generally more liquid) which isbaked or cooked, preferably by being baked in an oven. Depending on theinclusion of water and/or the inclusion of polyols, they can beconsidered as:

-   -   “dry” (typically having less than 5 wt % moisture and are hard        and crunchy/crispy); or    -   “soft” (typically containing more than 5 wt % moisture, and        generally having an Aw of below 0.85. Such soft portions often        include added polyols, in particular if their Aw is below 0.8).        By soft it is meant that they can be very soft or just not        crunchy/crispy. They will be named herein “soft cakes”.

Dry biscuits includes biscuits (in Europe), cookies (in US), crackers,wafers, and baked granola bars.

Soft cakes includes preferably cakes, cupcakes, sponge cakes, soft bars,brownies, but also brioche, croissants, buns, muffins, Swiss rolls,patisserie products such as tarts, plaits, and swirls, pain au chocolat,macaroons, flapjacks, doughnuts, pies, scones, éclairs, Mille-feuille,puddings, flans, tortes, pancakes and profiteroles.

Preferably the bakery product is a layered biscuit (which may be dry orsoft), preferably a sandwich biscuit, or a single biscuit with fillinglying on one surface or inside thereof.

By a filled bakery product it is meant that the bakery product isprovided with a filling or coating layer on at least one surface, withina cavity (open or closed) or linking two or more bakery productstogether. For example, a sandwich biscuit may be considered as filledbecause the filling is provided between two biscuit portions. Equally, acroissant may be provided with a filling enclosed within the cone shapeportion of the product or applied as a layer around a portion of theouter surface. Other filled products, for example, include “waferbooks”, which have several wafer sheets separated by filling layers.

The inventors sought to provide a healthier filling for such products.In particular, they sought to provide a filling without palm oil and/orwith reduced saturated fat, while not increasing the production costsand while maintaining a “clean label” (no animal fats, no hydrogenatedfat, no E number, and no interesterification). Furthermore, the fillingwould need to maintain consumer appeal.

The saturated fat of conventional filling compositions may be from 45 to100 wt % of the fat component. This gives rise to a good texture(hardness, plasticity, heat resistance), good processability (aeration,crystallization speed), a good melting profile (no waxiness) and flavourrelease. Accordingly, simply reducing the saturated fat content wouldjeopardise these beneficial characteristics of the filling.

Many conventional fillings are made using palm oil as it provides a goodtexture. However, as explained below, certain consumers may considerpalm oil to be undesirable in a filling composition. Palm is a cheap oilwith a lot of technical interest. It is a plastic solid at roomtemperature, and can be used to provide a large range of texture due toeasy fractionation (for instance selecting olein for softer or stearinfor harder formulations). It also has a pleasant melting profile inmouth, a very neutral taste, and it is very stable to oxidation.However, it is considered to be undesirable for social, environmentaland nutritional reasons. It is implicated in significant deforestation.It is also rich in saturated fats, very rich in palmitic acid, which isgenerally considered to be worse than other saturated fatty acids(especially stearic) for cardiovascular diseases, and is the highestsource of neoformed carcinogenic components (3-MCPD).

Accordingly, the inventors sought to reduce the saturated fat in afilling while avoiding the use of palm oil. However, those fats whichare low in saturated fatty acid chains are liquid oils based mainly onunsaturated fatty acids containing 18 carbons (C18), like canola,sunflower (regular or oleic), soy, cottonseed, olive. Oleic sunfloweroil (containing 8% Safa) has successfully been used to replace palm(containing 45% to 50% Safa) in crisps. However, these fats are liquidat 20 to 25° C. (most of them are even liquid at refrigeratedtemperature), so cannot be used in fillings, where solid fat is the maincontributor to processability, and/or texture and/or flavour release.

Accordingly, the inventors investigated the available solid fats.However, these are limited in number and have a number of substantialdraw-backs such as expense or hydrogenation, high safa levels,unacceptability for health or religious reasons (especially animalfats), or having too high a melting point such that they do not melt inthe mouth.

The solution found by the inventors and described herein was to providea specific blend of a temper hard fat and a liquid oil (low in safa)which was found, when properly crystallised according to the methodsdescribed herein, to surprisingly give a suitable texture even with verylow levels of the temper hard fat. The fat blends described herein foruse in forming fillings have a large number of advantages includingexcellent technical properties: very quick crystallization; goodstickiness (important to adhere sandwich biscuits together); and highstability upon storage between 18 and 30° C. without fat bloom or fatseparation. They also provide excellent organoleptic properties: theyhave a desired hardness (solid) at 20, 25 and 30° C., a good heatresistance up to 29 to 34° C., and an outstanding melting profile (likechocolate): sharp melting above 30° C. and fully melted at 37° C., suchas in the mouth. This is much better than non-tempered fats with lowsafa (which have waxiness and higher viscosity at mouth temperature).The sharp and full melting at mouth temperature (typically 36-37° C.)enables a fat saving of about 10% for the same viscosity, compared withnon-tempered classical fat shortenings (not reduced in saturated fat).This 10% fat saving contributes to make the filling healthier directly(by the use of less fat) and indirectly (since 10% less fat furtherreduces the total saturated fat by 10%).

Typically, temper hard fats based on hard shea butter fractions, Illipeor Mango kernel for instance, cost about six times as much as palm oil,and have very different textures, so that people have no incentive toreplace palm oil with them. Also any filling for a bakery product isnormally based on non-temper fats which are simple to process.

Although temper hard fats are very expensive, the method describedherein allows a decrease in the overall cost because: (1) the fat blendmaximizes the oil content and minimises the hard temper fat for thetarget texture; and (2) it is possible to use less total fat in thefilling (about 10% less fat) and less cocoa powder and/or flavouringcomponents, due to the outstanding melting properties when consumed.

It is also noted that the fat blend provides flexibility. By adjustingthe blend of the two fats it is possible to control the hardness to verydifferent products requirements (e.g. from 500 g to 10000 g ofpenetrometer).

The utility of the fat blend described herein was particularlysurprising because it was expected that temper fats like cocoa butter(CB) or cocoa butter equivalent (CBE) would be incompatible with a lotof fats, including lauric fats and liquid oils. For instance, oilmigration (e.g. rapeseed or sunflower oil) from a biscuit into chocolateis notably known to make it bloom, especially when there is no AnhydrousMilk Fat (AMF) inside the chocolate: this is due to the destabilisationof the CB solid fat network by the liquid oil. In addition, too muchforeign fat in cocoa butter is known to inhibit chocolate tempering.Without good tempering, the cocoa butter will crystallize slowly andthen bloom within a few days or weeks.

Instead, the inventors were surprised to see that they could dilute thetemper hard fat with large amounts (up to 85 wt % of the liquid oil) andstill obtain a sufficiently solid filling. Differential scanningcalorimetry (DSC) analysis can be used to investigate the fat propertiesin the final composition. The DSC analysis shows that where a liquid oilhaving 0% SFC at 20° C. (like canola oil) is used in the fat blend, theoil is not solid in the final product at 20° C. Without wishing to bebound by theory, it is thought that it is just entrapped within thetemper hard fat network. Indeed, even oils with a lot of polyunsaturatedfatty acids with 2 or 3 double bonds (sunflower or canola) can be usedwithout giving more perturbation in crystallization and shelf life thanoleic oils (hazelnut or high oleic sunflower).

The method firstly involves the provision of a filling composition. Afilling composition is one which has a desirable flavour and mouth feel.Such fillings typically include fat, sugar and a flavouring, such as achocolate, hazelnut, coffee, strawberry, mint or vanilla flavouring. Itcan also be a savoury filling, with for instance, tomato or cheesepowders and flavours. Such flavourings are well known in the art.

The filling composition described herein is prepared from a fat blend,together with at least one powdered food ingredient and, optionallywater or water-containing ingredients (liquid glucose syrup, honey,concentrated milk and the like). The presence of added water (andoptionally other liquid hydrophilic ingredients within the aqueousphase) will depend on whether the filling is an emulsion filling or ananhydrous filling.

Preferably the filling composition is prepared by adding the at leastone powdered food ingredient into the at least partially melted fatblend. Alternatively, the filling may be provided by adding separatelythe oil and hard fat during a mixing step with the powders. That is, thefat blend may be formed in-situ, rather than being formed prior toaddition to the filling.

An anhydrous filling is any concentrated suspension of solid particles(“dry” powdered ingredients) in a continuous fat phase which is not awater-in oil emulsion (the suspension may be more readily seen when thefat is melted). When the fats and oils making the continuous phase aremelted and not intentionally aerated, the filling described hereinpreferably has a homogeneous texture, either liquid or more viscous (butstill pumpable), such as a batter or a dough. The filling is not powderyor crumbly (such as a wet sand texture). Anhydrous fillings do notinclude added water, either directly or indirectly (for instance throughliquid glucose syrup or liquid honey for instance). An anhydrous fillingcontains substantially no water (i.e. has a moisture content of lessthan 6 wt. %, preferably less than 3 wt %) and most of its water iscontained within its solid particles, like vegetable fragments (cocoapowder, starch and the like), dried powders (milk and the like), orcrystals with crystallisation water (dextrose monohydrate, lactosemonohydrate and the like). An anhydrous filling contains substantiallyno added liquid polyols such as glycerol, propylene glycol and the like(i.e. less than 3 wt %, preferably less than 1 wt %, more preferably 0).Anhydrous fillings typically have a water activity (Aw) of less than0.6, preferably less than 0.5, and are frequently used in “dry” biscuits(like in “dry” sandwich biscuits or “dry” filled biscuits) or in filledchocolate because they do not soften the “dry” base biscuit. Anhydrousfilling can also, in some cases, be used in soft cakes, but if thefilling quantity is large, the soft cake will becomes less soft overtime due to moisture pick up by the filling.

The water activity (Aw) of a product is a notion which is well known inthe food industry field. This value measures the availability of waterin a sample. In most cases, this water activity is not proportional tothe water content of the product. Methods for measuring Aw of a productare known to the person skilled in the art. For example, it can bemeasured with an Aqualab CX-2 or series 3, or a Novasina. All Aw valuesindicated hereafter are measured at 25±0.2° C.

Common anhydrous fillings may include yoghurt or live cultures toprovide additional taste and health benefits.

An emulsion-based filling, which contains fats and water (or otherliquid anhydrous but hydrophilic food grade ingredients such as liquidanhydrous polyols: glycerol, propylene glycol and the like), is adispersion comprising at least one lipid phase and at least one aqueous(hydrophilic) phase. The lipid phase (which is herein also referred toas a fat phase) can be predominantly solid or predominantly liquid (orentirely solid or entirely liquid) depending on temperature. Theemulsion can further comprise solid particles, like insoluble particles(cocoa powder, non-gelatinised starch, or the like) or icing sugar, forinstance, if the concentration exceeds the maximum solubility. Emulsionfillings for products having a shelf life of several months (non-frozen)typically have an Aw 0.6-0.85. They are used in soft cakes, especiallyfillings used to stick two cakes into sandwich soft cakes, and inchocolate shells. Emulsion fillings could also be used in dry biscuitsproducts if the filling Aw is below 0.55, preferably below 0.4. For ashorter shelf life or when a suitable preservation system is used, theAw of the filling according to the invention could be higher, forexample from 0.85 to 0.98, preferably 0.85 to 0.93.

The preparation of emulsion fillings includes adding water or liquidwater containing ingredients (and/or liquid anhydrous hydrophilicingredients such as anhydrous liquid polyols) and usually emulsifiers tostabilise the emulsion. These fillings may include a continuous lipidphase (with a dispersed hydrophilic phase), or a continuous hydrophilicphase (with a dispersed lipid phase) or bicontinuous phases (forinstance with regions having a continuous lipidic phase, and otherregions having a continuous hydrophilic one). It can also include morecomplex emulsions like multiple emulsions.

The aqueous hydrophilic phase usually comprises water and/or liquidanhydrous polyols (glycerol, propylene glycol), dissolved powders (suchas solid polyols like sorbitol, sugars, milk, or the like), andsometimes suspended hydrophilic solid particles (crystalline sugars,non-gelatinised starch or the like). The nature of the continuous phaseis driven by the formulation (volume ratio of lipidic to hydrophilicphases; nature and quantity of emulsifiers, or the like) but also by theprocess (incorporation sequence of ingredients, shear, temperature, orthe like). Preferred emulsion fillings according to the method andcompositions disclosed herein are those wherein lipids form mainly acontinuous phase through at least part of the filling, more preferablythroughout the whole filling. This is because in such cases, theproperties of the fat have a higher contribution to the texture; theycan be used for instance in soft cakes and chocolate shells. In othercases, for instance where one would want to prevent oil migration, acontinuous hydrophilic phase may be preferred.

A filled bakery product may contain two or more fillings, including, forexample, an emulsion and an anhydrous filling. One or more, preferablyall, of these fillings may be provided as described herein. The fillingsare preferably provided as distinct filling portions.

Edible oils and fats usually contain primarily a complex mixture oftriglycerides, the remainder being predominantly monoglycerides anddiglycerides which arise as a result of the partial hydrolysis of thefat or oil, or as a result of specific chemical reactions likeinteresterification or as a result of in purpose addition ofmonoglycerides and diglycerides emulsifiers. Each triglyceride is atriester of glycerol and any of several fatty acids. Fatty acid“residues” refers to the total of free fatty acids (in very limitedamount in refined food grade fats and oils) and of the fatty acidsengaged in ester bonds such as when bound to the glycerol backbone.Owing to the mixture of components present in any given fat, fats do nothave exact melting points but have a melting range. The term “hard fat”as used herein refers to a fat that is predominantly solid at roomtemperature (i.e. 20 to 25° C.), while the term “liquid oil” refers to afat that is predominantly liquid at room temperature. The term “fatblend” refers to a mechanical blend or mixture of two or more fats, i.e.without chemical reaction like interesterification in between the twofats.

Mono-, di- and triglycerides mixtures are polymorphic when theycrystallize in different crystal forms, denoted as γ, α, β prime and β,in order of increasing stability (thermodynamics) but of decreasingfacility to be formed (kinetics): for instance, beta prime crystals formsooner/more easily than beta crystals (kinetics, due to lower activationenergy), but are less stable thermodynamically and have the tendency tobe converted over time into beta, leading to fat bloom or fat separationin big white dots for instance. All these crystal forms differ in theirmelting points and crystallographic properties (packing density and thelike). A temper fat is one which is most stable in the β-form (crystalform type V or VI as defined by Wille & Luton): if not crystallisedproperly with a tempering process, it will first crystallise slowly, inunstable crystal forms, then recrystallize over time in more stableforms, bringing changes in texture and in appearance (fat bloom).

On the contrary, a non-temper fat will crystallise, from the fullymelted form, spontaneously, usually more rapidly, and in a form whichwill remains stable for a long time, without the need of a specifictempering process to select specific polymorphs. These non-temper fatsare generally thought to crystallise in beta prime form and stay in thatmetastable form for a long time, even if their most thermodynamic formcould ultimately be beta.

The fat blend comprises from 15 to 67 wt. % of a temper hard fat.Preferably the fat blend comprises the temper hard fat in an amount offrom 15 to 60 wt. %, preferably from 15 to 50 wt. %, preferably from 15to 40 wt. %, preferably from 15 to 30 wt. %, more preferably from 15 to27 wt. % and still more preferably from 15 to 25 wt. % and even morepreferably 20 to 25 wt. %. The preferred temper hard fats include cocoabutter (CB), Cocoa Butter Equivalent (CBE) or CBI (Cocoa ButterImprover), and mixtures thereof.

CBE are fats, cheaper than CB, with physical properties (includingcrystallisation) close to CB, and which are miscible with CB in eachproportion without altering too much of the CB properties. They are forinstance defined according to current EU regulation when they are foruse in chocolate (at maximum 5%) while maintaining the standard ofidentity to name it “chocolate”. CBI is a specific class of CBE, beingharder than CB itself; they are usually used (at maximum 5%) in milkchocolate sold in hot countries to have a product a bit harder whenpartly melted for instance at 30-31° C.

They are also fats which technically are CB, CBE or CBI, but areobtained in a way not allowed by the various local chocolateregulations/Codex (because of other vegetable origin, due to too muchspecific minor lipid components or due to the use of interesterificationfor instance): if they are used, even at less than 5%, the productcannot be labelled chocolate. For the purpose of this patent, when wespeak about CB, CBE or CBI, we also include the fats which have thesecharacteristics but do not comply with regulations for use in chocolatestandard of identity.

The most preferred temper hard fat are CBI, more preferably those withthe highest melting point, for instance based on 100% shea butterstearin: these fats do not melt in mouth when pure (they are fullymelted at about 41° C.). Preferably the CBI have a SFC at 35° C. of atleast 10%, preferably at least 20%, more preferably at least 40%, evenmore preferably at least 50% and ideally at least 60%.

The temper hard fat will have a solid fat content (SFC) of at least 60wt. % at 20° C., preferably at least 70% and preferably at least 80%. Attemperatures close to ambient, most hard fats used in food, althoughthey seems solid, are partly solid and partly liquid. Solid fat contentmeasurements are well known in the art and are used to describe how muchsolid the fat has at the particular measurement temperature in order toestimate its melting profile for instance. SFC are measured according tothe IUPAC measurement standard 2.150 (b) for temper fats (including thetemper hard fat discussed herein) and to 2.150 (a) for non-temper fats(including the liquid oil discussed herein).

One way to describe components of a fat blend is with a “Ratio A”. Thisis the proportion of saturated fatty acid residues having 16 or fewercarbon atoms relative to the total number of saturated fatty acidresidues of the temper hard fat. Preferably the temper hard fat has aratio A of less than 50%, preferably less than 45%, more preferably lessthan 38%, more preferably less than 30%, still more preferably less than20% and most preferably from 1 to 10%.

Preferably the fat blend has also a ratio A of less than 50%, preferablyless than 45%, more preferably less than 38%, more preferably less than30%, still more preferably less than 20% and most preferably from 1 to10%.

Preferably the temper hard fat has a SUS-triglyceride content of atleast 60 wt. %, preferably at least 70 wt. %, more preferably at least75 wt %, more preferably at least 80 wt. %, more preferably at least 85wt %, still more preferably at least 90 wt. %, most preferably from 95to 99 wt. %. S means a saturated fatty acid, U means an unsaturatedfatty acid, and an SUS-triglyceride is a triglyceride having twosaturated fatty acids (which can be identical or different in chainlength) at the 1- and 3-positions and an unsaturated fatty acid at the2-position on the glycerol backbone. Such a triglyceride is symmetrical,in contrast to an unsymmetrical SSU-triglyceride.

Preferably at least 50 wt % of the SUS-triglyceride content is providedby SOS-triglycerides, wherein 0 is oleic acid, more preferably at least60 wt %, still more preferably at least 70 wt %, more preferably atleast 80 wt % and most preferably at least 90 wt %.

Preferably, most of the total saturated fatty acid residues present inthe temper hard fat have a carbon chain length of 16 to 24, morepreferably from 18 to 24, more preferably still from 18 to 22. Saturatedfatty acid residues of such carbon length may be present in an amount ofat least 80 wt %, preferably at least 90 wt %, more preferably still atleast 95 wt % and most preferably at least 99 wt %.

Preferably the temper hard fat has a diglyceride content of less than 10wt. %, preferably less than 5 wt. %, more preferably less than 3 wt. %,and preferably less than 1 wt. %.

Preferably the temper hard fat is a shea stearin, preferably having aSUS-triglyceride content of at least 75 wt. %, preferably at least 85wt. % and even more preferably of at least. 90 wt. %.

The fat blend comprises from 85 to 33 wt. % of a liquid oil. Preferablythe fat blend comprises the liquid oil in an amount of from 85 to 40 wt.%, preferably from 85 to 50 wt. %, preferably from 85 to 60 wt. %,preferably from 85 to 70 wt. %, more preferably from 85 to 73 wt. % andstill more preferably from 80 to 75 wt. %.

The liquid oil is preferably selected from the group consisting ofcanola oil, rapeseed oil, sunflower oil, soy oil, peanut oil, corn oil,cottonseed oil, olive oil, and mixtures of two or more thereof. Morepreferably, the liquid oil is native and/or regular oil from canola orsoy, or a mixture thereof. Less preferred oils include oils extractedfrom grape seeds, hazelnut or other nut oils, linseed, rice bran oil,safflower, sesame, liquid fractions of palm oil or liquid fractions ofshea butter, liquid algae oil or diglyceride liquid oil. All these oilscould be native (including generally Refining, Deodorisation andBleaching) or modified physically or chemically by fractionation orinteresterification for instance, and are used alone or in mix.

Note than canola and rapeseed are very close in composition, and can beinterchanged within the scope of this disclosure. Canola is the termused in America, where the term rapeseed is in Europe, for instance.

The solid fat content of the liquid oil is less than 15 wt. % at 20° C.,more preferably less than 10 wt %, more preferably less than 5 wt % andmost preferably about 0 wt %.

The fatty acid composition of the liquid oils of the present disclosurecan be regular, i.e. not modified by conventional breeding or GMOtechniques or on the contrary modified to get a different fatty acidcomposition like high oleic varieties, i.e. enriched in oleic acidresidues. “High oleic” oil varieties are commercially available and areobtained, for example, by selective breeding of the plants from whichthey are derived. Alternatively, the liquid oils may be modified byother means, such as inter-esterification, which is a process wherebyfatty acids positions are moved within the same triglyceride molecule,and/or moved from one triglyceride molecule to another.Inter-esterification is commonly performed to modify the melting profileof a fat. Preferably, the liquid oils are not chemically modified byhydrogenation or interesterification for instance. Suitable liquid oilsinclude oleic canola, oleic rapeseed or oleic sunflower oil. Preferablythe fat blend does not comprise palm oil nor palm kernel oil.

The fat blend has a saturated fatty acid residue content of from 16 to42 wt. %, based on the total weight of fatty acid residues of the fatblend. A saturated fatty acid residue is a fatty acid residue containingno carbon-carbon double bonds. Preferably the fat blend has a saturatedfatty acid residue content of from 16 to 35 wt. %, preferably from 16 to30 wt. %, more preferably from 16 to 25 wt. %, and from 17 to 23 wt. %,based on the total weight of fatty acid residues of the fat blend.

Preferably the saturated fat content of the filling, whether anhydrousor emulsion, is less than 12 wt % relative to the total weight offilling, more preferably less than 10 wt. %, more preferably less than 8wt. % and most preferably less than 6 wt. % per 100 g of filling.Preferably the total fat content of the fillings is less than 40 wt %.

The fat blend has a polyunsaturated fatty acid residue content of lessthan 40 wt. %, based on the total weight of fatty acid residues of thefat blend. A polyunsaturated fatty acid residue is a fatty acid residuecontaining at least two carbon-carbon double bonds. Preferably the fatblend has a polyunsaturated fatty acid residue content of from 10 to 40wt. %, preferably from 10 to 30 wt. %, more preferably from 15 to 25 wt.%, based on the total weight of fatty acid residues of the fat blend.This provides a good balance between nutritionally recommended levels(since this may provide the only two essential fatty acids: linoleic andalpha linolenic fatty acids) and avoiding too much oxidationsensitivity.

One of the main factor influencing oxidation is storage temperature. Inorder to limit oxidation, the liquid oil is preferably added to thetemper hard fat just before using it to make the fillings: it ispossible to store the liquid oil at for instance 20° C., ensuring anoxidation rate 5 times lower than inside the fat blend or inside thefilling, which must be stored at about 45° C. to avoid crystallisationof the temper hard fat. This is a big advantage compared to commercialblends bought already mixed from suppliers.

Another option to reduce the oxidation is to blend the liquid oil andthe temper hard fat and then convert it into solid blocks, possiblyprotected by an inert gas replacing the air. This allows storage of thefat blend for several months at 4 to 20° C., for instance.

Preferably, the fat blend is stored less than 10 days above 34° C.before using in a filling, preferably less than 6 days, even morepreferably less than 3 days and much preferably less than 1 day or evenless than 3 hours. It is to be understood that such a time refers to thecumulative time during which the fat blend is stored above 34° C. Such atime may, for example, be divided into several stages, which may be atthe same or different temperatures.

Antioxidants can also be added, such as natural additives, includingtocopherols, citric acid, lecithin or ascorbyl palmitate or chemicaladditives such as BHA, BHT, or the like. Preferably chemical antioxidantadditives are not included.

Preferably the fat blend has a trans fatty acid residue content of lessthan 5 wt. %, preferably less than 2 wt. %, more preferably less than 1wt. %, based on the total weight of fatty acid residues of the fatblend. A trans fatty acid residue is a fatty acid residue containing atleast one trans carbon-carbon double bond.

Preferably, the temper hard fat and the liquid oil are notinter-esterified together. By this it is meant that the temper hard fatis not inter-esterified with the liquid oil. It remains possible,however, for the liquid oil itself or for the temper hard fat itself tobe inter-esterified, as explained above. Most preferably, none of thefats and oils present are interesterified.

Preferably the fat blend consists of the temper hard fat and the liquidoil. That is, the fat component of the filling does not contain anyfurther added fat components other than the temper hard fat and theliquid oil. There may, of course, be amounts of fat included within theother ingredients, such as the cocoa powder or liquor, milk powder ornut paste. However, the added fat which forms the fat blend preferablyconsists of the temper hard fat and the liquid oil as described herein.In an emulsion filling where the fat blend is defined by weight of thefat phase, preferably at least 75 wt % of the fat phase is the temperhard fat and the liquid oil (with the remainder being fats from otheringredients such as cocoa liquor or full fat milk powder), morepreferably at least 85 wt %, more preferably at least 95 wt % and mostpreferably substantially all of the fat phase.

Preferably the fat blend has a solid fat content of less than 5 wt. % at37° C., preferably less than 2 wt. %, preferably about zero.

Preferably the fat blend has a ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 of less than10, preferably less than 5 and preferably less than 3. Omega-6 fattyacids are a family of polyunsaturated fatty acids that have in common acarbon-carbon double bond in the n-6 position, that is, the sixth bondcounting from the methyl end. Omega-6 fatty acids include, for example,linoleic acid and arachidonic acid. By contrast, omega-3 fatty acids arepolyunsaturated fatty acids with a double bond at the n-3 position. Somemedical research suggests that eating a lot of certain omega-6 fattyacids rather than omega-3 may lead to some diseases, and so a low ratioof omega-6 to omega-3 in the fat blend is desirable. Certain oils, suchas canola oil, naturally have a low omega-6 to omega-3 ratio.

Fillings in accordance with the present disclosure are preferablysuitable for storage at room temperature, i.e. typically from 10 to 30°C., preferably from 15 to 25° C. Preferably, the fillings are not usedin frozen products, such as ice creams.

Preferably, the fillings are not used in refrigerated products, i.e. notstored in a fridge at 0 to 10° C. (typically 4° C. with a shelf life ofless than 6 weeks).

Preferably the fillings in the final product have a shelf-life of atleast 6 months at 20° C., more preferably at least 9 months and even 12months. This permits the formation of a shelf stable filling and finalproduct. Indeed, the anhydrous fillings, when processed according to themethod disclosed herein, can be kept without melting, oil separation,fat bloom nor major visual or texture changes for at least 11 weeks at30° C. and 1 year at 25° C. (isothermal+/−1° C.).

The one or more powdered food ingredients include conventional fillingingredients. Preferably the at least one powdered food ingredient isselected from sugar, icing sugar, cocoa powder, milk powder and othermilk derivatives (like whey powder), non-gelatinised starch, aromas(vanilla extracts, vanillin and the like). In case of savoury fillings,it can contain lower levels of sugars and more non-gelatinised starchand other flavouring powders like cheese, tomato or herbs.

The fillings preferably comprise one or more emulsifiers, preferablylecithin. Anhydrous fillings may additionally comprise otheremulsifiers, including polyglycerol polyricinoleate and/or ammoniumphosphatide. Emulsion fillings preferably further comprise added mono-and diglycerides of fatty acids and/or polyglycerol esters of fattyacids.

When the filling is an emulsion filling, it preferably contains somemoisture or water, either directly added or added through ingredientslike liquid glucose syrup, honey, concentrated milk and the like. It mayalso contain water-activity depressors such as sugars and/or polyols.Preferably an emulsion filling contains water and one or both offollowing polyols: glycerol and sorbitol.

Preferably, the moisture content of the emulsion filling is 10% or more,preferably 15% or more, preferably from 15 to 30%, most preferably from15 to 25%.

The filling may be anhydrous and may contain a lactic culture. “Lacticculture” means any bacteria suitable for producing fermented foodproduct yielding lactic acid. These bacteria are chosen amidst the genusof Lactobacillus, Lactococcus, Streptococcus and Bifidobacteria.Examples of Lactobacillus are L. acidophilus, L. delbrueckii, L. kefiri,L. helveticus, L. salivarius, L. casei, L. curvatus, L. plantarum, L.sakei, L. brevis, L. buchneri, L. fermentum and L. reuteri. One exampleof Lactococcus is L. lactis. One example of Streptococcus is S.thermophilius. Examples of Bifidobacteria are B. bifidum, B. longum andB. infantis.

In one preferred embodiment, if the anhydrous filling comprises yoghurt,then the lactic culture is a blend of L. delbrueckii and S.thermophilus, more preferably L. delbrueckii, subsp. bulgaricus and S.thermophilus.

The method preferably involves the steps of at least partially meltingthe fat blend and adding at least one powdered food ingredient to form afilling composition. Optionally the filling composition may then bereheated to fully melt the fat blend within the filling. Preferably, allthe fat blend is melted before the later tempering step.

Tempering is a well-known process in the art for temper fats, especiallyin the field of chocolate. Tempering is well known to the chocolatier,since cocoa butter must be tempered to enable a good gloss, contraction,snap and to prevent “fat bloom” in the resulting chocolate product. Inchocolate, tempering is used to create mostly crystal seeds in form beta(type V and/or VI): this ensures that only stable polymorph (usuallyform V) crystallises after depositing upon final cooling. Indeed, thetype of crystals that form during cooling is usually the same (betaprime or beta), if cooling is not too quick, as the ones present duringtempering.

One way to do this tempering is to first cool the molten fat until thetemper fat starts to crystallise (which increases the viscositydramatically) usually in unstable polymorphs; then re-heat to convertand melt unstable crystals such that only the most stable β-form remainscrystallised at depositing (the viscosity is also reduced after thisreheating stage). Tempering and depositing are followed by a finalcooling step, which is important to finish the crystallisation.

An alternative mean of tempering is to add a small quantity of stablebeta SOS seed crystals to the fat blend already cooled at the depositingtemperature (to avoid to remelt the added seeds): these seeds will drivethe formation of the stable beta forms upon cooling, thus obviating theneed for the more complex step of a stronger cooling under shearfollowed by an intermediate re-heating step. Examples of stable beta SOSseeds are e.g. 1,3-behenoyl-2oleoylglycerol, or a temper hard fatalready crystallised in beta form (for instance after ageing 2 weeks at26° C.); it is important that these crystals are converted into a finepowder to provide a huge amount of seeds.

The filling composition described herein is tempered to form a temperedfilling composition. It should be understood that in the context of thepresent disclosure, “tempering” includes and may consist of an initialstep of fully melting the filling composition, if not fully melted uponits formation from the fat blend and the at least one powdered foodingredient. Full melting means heating to a temperature such that thefat blend of the filling is entirely in liquid form (as measured bySFC=0), such as heating to a temperature of from 35 to 80° C.,preferably from 40 to 60° C., more preferably from 40 to 50° C. and mostpreferably to about 45° C.

Preferably the step of tempering the filling composition as describedherein comprises an initial step of fully melting the fillingcomposition, if not already fully melted, cooling the fillingcomposition to a first temperature whereby the temper hard fat begins tocrystallise, and then preferably reheating the filling composition toform a tempered filling composition. Preferably the first temperature isfrom 19 to 31° C., more preferably from 20 to 29° C., still morepreferably from 20 to 27° C. and most preferably from 23 to 26° C.Unlike for chocolate, in some cases, the reheating after the firstcooling can be avoided or can be less than 1° C., but this is notpreferred. It is important however that the composition contains crystalseeds (is tempered) before it is applied to the bakery product. The stepof tempering may preferably include high shear mixing. This is desirableto prevent the growth of large crystals and to ensure a maximum of smallcrystals throughout the filling.

Suitable devices for tempering the fillings are conventional chocolatetemper unit or scrapped surface heat exchangers, preferably temper unitfor anhydrous fillings and stainless steel scrapped surface heatexchangers for emulsion fillings.

The tempered filling composition is then deposited on to at least onesurface of a bakery product to form a filled bakery product. By this itis meant that the tempered filling composition is put or set down on toat least one surface of a bakery product. In the context of the presentdisclosure, depositing includes injecting, extruding, spraying or anyother suitable means for setting the composition onto the surface. Inthe present disclosure it is important that the filling has beentempered before deposition. This ensures that the filling firms well onthe surface of the bakery product.

Before deposition, the filling may be aerated to reduce its density.Preferably the tempered filling composition is aerated to decrease itsdensity to from 650 to 1300 g/L preferably to from 700 to 1200 g/L, morepreferably to from 950 to 1190 g/L, prior to the step of depositing thetempered filling composition. By aeration it is meant the process bywhich air or another gas is dispersed in the tempered fillingcomposition. This can be achieved by mechanical means, for example bypassing air through the composition under pressure and shear. Apreferred alternative is to aerate inside the tempering equipment (toavoid extra equipment), or when higher aeration levels are needed, afterthe tempering equipment, for instance with a Mondomix aerator: in thiscase, temperature control is necessary to ensure a suitable temperinglevel is kept.

The tempered filling composition is deposited at a depositiontemperature of from 20 to 33° C. Preferably the deposition temperatureis from 24 to 31° C., preferably from 26 to 29° C. The depositiontemperature is preferably selected so as to obtain a high temper (H3.5),as will be explained in the Examples. The deposition temperature ispreferably approximately that of the exit of the temper unit, morepreferably 0.5 to 1° C. higher. The degree of tempering is preferablymeasured at the point of deposition, and not at the exit of the temperunit.

Without tempering and/or active cooling, the fillings according to thedisclosure exhibit a slow crystallisation and fat bloom after a few daysor weeks of storage, like for chocolate; but also a much softer texture(not seen to such an extent when chocolate is crystallised withouttempering and/or active cooling).

Surprisingly, the tempered fillings described herein can be deposited attemperatures lower (and in some cases much lower) than possible forchocolate:

-   -   the anhydrous fillings do not increase in viscosity as quickly        as chocolate during the cooling stage, allowing the use of lower        temperatures for the lowest tempering temperature and/or for the        depositing temperature    -   It is possible, before depositing, to not reheat above        temperatures of remelting of the beta prime crystals known for        cocoa butter (26-28° C.), without seeing later keeping test        issues like fat bloom after 9 months of storage at 18, 20 or        25° C. (isothermal+/−0.2° C.). This would not be possible with        chocolate.

These two points are particularly unexpected, especially when we use inour fat blend a temper fat of higher melting point than cocoa butter,even when using the highest melting point. When a CBI is added to cocoabutter inside a chocolate, it is on the contrary well known thatdepositing temperatures must be increased, as CBI have higher meltingpoints: if the depositing temperature is not increased, the chocolatewill become too viscous because it contains more crystallised fat.

It is important that the surface of the bakery product on which thefilling is applied has a temperature of less than 36° C., otherwise thetemper of the filling may be disrupted. Preferably the surface of thebakery product has a temperature of less than 33° C., preferably lessthan 30° C., more preferably from 0 to 30° C., still more preferablyfrom 10 to 30° C., and most preferably from 18 to 28° C. Thesetemperatures are much lower than for standard filling processes whichmay be applied to freshly made biscuits having a temperature of up to43° C. This means that the bakery product must be cooled enough afterthe baking stage, for instance by allowing time at a suitable ambienttemperature or by adding an active cooling step for the bakery product.The temperature of the surface of the bakery product is preferably thesame as or lower than the deposition temperature. It can also beslightly higher than the deposition temperature (e.g. by 2-4° C.), as itcould still be that the surface of the bakery product will not provideenough energy to re-melt all the crystals in the filling before enteringthe cooling tunnel. However, this is not preferred, as in this case,this will reduce the degree of tempering, reducing crystallization speedand crystal network strength.

When the filling is deposited onto chocolate, it is preferably depositedat a temperature such that the chocolate will not melt, preferably from20 to 30° C., and typically 28° C. or less, such as 20 to 28° C.

The deposited filling is then actively cooled. By active cooling of thedeposited filling composition is meant the forced transfer of thermalenergy from the composition by means of a cooling device, to becontrasted with simply allowing the composition to stand and equilibratewith its surroundings, which would achieve a slower rate of cooling. Byway of example, the deposited filling composition can be moved to apre-cooled environment, placed on a cooled support such as by use ofwater cooling, and/or blown with cooled air. Including such a forcedconvection is preferred due to the rate of cooling which can beachieved.

That is, preferably the step of actively cooling the tempered fillingcomposition is carried out in a convection cooling device, preferablywherein the convection cooling device comprises convection air having atemperature of from 5 to 20° C., preferably 5 to 15° C., much preferably6 to 12° C. and even more preferably 8 to 10° C. The cooler temperaturescan be used when the filling is more isolated in between two biscuitsfor instance. The higher temperatures can be used when there is a highconvection, or when the biscuit part is already at a lower temperature,like 14° C. for instance.

In the step of actively cooling the deposited filling composition, thedeposited filling composition is cooled to a temperature of at least 4°C. (preferably 4 to 15° C.) below the deposition temperature. Preferablyin the step of actively cooling the deposited filling composition, thedeposited filling composition is cooled to a temperature of at least 5°C., preferably at least 6° C., more preferably at least 7° C., and mostpreferably from 8 to 10° C. below the deposition temperature. Preferablythe tempered filling composition is actively cooled to a temperature ofless than 22° C., preferably from 18 to 22° C.

In order to provide a healthier snack food product, it is desirable toprovide a healthier bakery product as the base component beforeintroducing the filling. Preferably the bakery product has a fat contentof less than 18 wt. %, preferably less than 16 wt. %, more preferablyless than 14 wt. %, still more preferably less than 12 wt. %, and mostpreferably from 6 to 12 wt. %.

It has advantageously been found that the stability of the final productand, in particular, the shelf-life, can be improved by matching the oilin the bakery product to the liquid oil component of the filling; thisalso simplifies operations at factories and labelling. Preferably thebakery product comprises a liquid oil selected from the group consistingof canola oil, rapeseed oil, sunflower oil, soy oil, peanut oil, cornoil, cottonseed oil, olive oil, and mixtures of two or more thereof. Themost preferred liquid oil is native canola oil, soy oil, or a mixturethereof.

It is preferred that the liquid oil of the bakery product and the liquidoil of the fat blend forming the filling are the same. Where the fatblend comprises two or more liquid oils, and the bakery productcomprises two or more liquid oils, each of these may be the same. In theembodiment where several oils are used, preferably at least 70 wt % ofthe liquid oils of the fat blend are the same as the liquid oils in thebakery product. Alternatively or in addition, at least 70 wt % of theliquid oils of the bakery product may be the same as the liquid oils ofthe fat blend. When biscuits were used to form a sandwich biscuit whichhad a low sat fat content due to the low oil content, it was expectedthat there would be oil migration from the filling to the biscuit, dueto the fact there is more oil in the filling than in the biscuit; orfrom the biscuit to the filling (the oil in the biscuit could be lessbound than in the filling): any of such oil migration could destabilizethe filling texture and could make the component (biscuit base orfilling) losing the oil adopting a “dry” texture. However, the oilmigration was surprisingly very limited, perhaps due to the low fatcontent of the biscuit (more traditional biscuits have often 18% fat andmore), but also due to the similar liquid oil used in both biscuit andfilling.

It is especially preferred to provide a combination of a biscuit low insaturated fat with the filling described herein having a low sat fat(thanks to low sat fat blend described herein and a low total fatcontent) and aeration of the filling (to use less filling/biscuit forthe same filling volume). This provides a baked product filled with afilling with very low safa, although with a high filling content.

One application of the fillings described herein is to fill biscuittartlet cavities or to fill sandwich biscuits. Preferably, the biscuitshave also a low safa and are made with non-palm non hydrogenated liquidvegetable oil such as sunflower or canola. As has been explained above,the biscuit is preferably made with the same liquid oil that is used inthe filling since this has been found to minimise oil migration.

As mentioned above, a particularly preferred embodiment is a sandwichbiscuit. This would preferably have first and second biscuit parts witha filling therebetween. A “biscuit part” may be a dry or soft bakeryproduct as described herein. Most preferred are dry biscuits, such ascookies, crackers or wafers, or soft products such as soft cakes. Thebiscuit part can consist in only one, two or more biscuits. When thereis only one biscuit, the filling part can be deposited wholly onto onesurface thereof or partially on each surface. The filling part can alsobe deposited inside the biscuit. When there are two or more biscuits,the filling part may be layered between two biscuits.

The filling part is preferably made with one of the highest melting CBI(like for instance Illexao HS 90 from AAK) blended with a liquid oilhaving 0% SFC at 20° C. (preferably regular and native canola); all theadded oil inside the biscuit part is preferably the same as the liquidoil used in the filling. Preferably, the fat blend of the fillingcomprises 20 to 30 wt. %, preferably 20 to 25 wt. % of the said CBI and80 to 70 wt. %, preferably 80 to 75 wt. % of the said liquid oil.

Compared with non-tempered palm based fillings, the fillings describedherein have a more solid/less spreadable texture. As is explainedherein, a more plastic texture can however be obtained by aeration,especially by increasing the aeration level.

When the Ratio A is lower and/or when we use less liquid oil/more temperhard fat, the hardness increases and the melting point increases (so theheat resistance increases) and deposition temperature and/or thetemperature of the surface of the bakery product may be increasedwithout re-melting all crystals.

The biscuit part may also contain inclusions, i.e. small pieces ofedible particles with a size larger than 1 mm but lower than 15 mm,preferably lower than 10 mm, preferably lower than 7 mm and even lowerthan 4 mm. Inclusions may be chocolate drops, nuts like hazelnut(preferably hazelnut pieces), extruded cereal, etc. The biscuit productadvantageously comprises 2 wt. % to 15 wt. % inclusions, preferably 4wt. % to 10 wt. % by weight of the product.

Chocolate drops are pieces of solid chocolate. “Chocolate” is understoodas meaning either “dark chocolate”, “milk chocolate” or “whitechocolate”. Preferably, chocolate drops are dark chocolate piecescontaining at least 35 wt. % of cocoa liquor (US legislation), morepreferably 35 wt. % of cocoa solids (European Union legislation), stillmore preferably at least 40 wt. %.

According to a further aspect there is provided a filled bakery productobtainable by the method described herein. The fat blend described andthe method result in a healthy filling having a desirable form and mouthfeel.

According to a further aspect there is provided an anhydrous fillingcomposition for a bakery product, the anhydrous filling compositioncomprising a suspension of at least one powdered food ingredient in acontinuous fat phase,

-   -   the continuous fat phase comprising a fat blend comprising from        15 to 67 wt. % of a temper hard fat and from 85 to 33 wt. % of a        liquid oil by weight of the continuous fat phase,    -   wherein the temper hard fat has a solid fat content of at least        60 wt. % at 20° C.,    -   wherein the liquid oil has a solid fat content of less than 15        wt. % at 20° C.,    -   wherein the fat blend has a saturated fatty acid residue content        of from 16 to 42 wt. % and a polyunsaturated fatty acid residue        content of less than 40 wt. %, based on the total weight of        fatty acid residues of the continuous fat phase, and wherein the        total fat content of the anhydrous filling composition is from        23 to 33 wt. %.

It will be appreciated that the filling composition comprises the fatblend described herein and all aspects of the fat blend apply equally tothis aspect.

Preferably, the fillings, especially the anhydrous ones, have, whenprocessed according to the methods described herein and after ageing at20+/0.5° C. for 14 days, a fat melting endset between 32 to 37° C.,preferably 33 to 36° C. to get both a heat resistance as high aspossible (for the finished product in summer) and still a nice melting(no waxiness) and a low viscosity in mouth.

The fat melting endset is measured for instance with a “Mettler DSC-1”using 10 mg of filling in an aluminium crucible of 20 μl (referenceME-51119810), with an initial cooling from 20° C. to −60° C. at −2°C./min, a stabilization of 3 minutes at −60° C. then a heating rate of2° C./min up to +80° C./min.

The anhydrous filling has a total fat content of from 23 to 33 wt %,preferably from 24 to 30 wt. %, more preferably from 25 to 28 wt. %.This is generally the case for fillings for bakery products where adecrease in fat content is desired. However, when using the fat blendfor filling chocolate shells and for other such confectionaryapplications, it may be desirable (for instance due to processrequirements for a low viscosity) for the total fat content to be at thehigher end of the fat range and, indeed, may be from 30 to 35 wt %, morepreferably from 32 to 34 wt %.

All references to the total fat content or safa of filling do notinclude fat which may be present in inclusions present in the filling.By inclusions it is meant discrete bodies of at least 0.4 mm, such aschocolate chips, nuts pieces, biscuits/extruded cereal pieces which maybe present to provide a further texture component.

According to a further aspect there is provided an emulsion-basedfilling composition for a bakery product, the emulsion-based fillingcomposition comprising a fat phase and an aqueous phase,

-   -   the fat phase comprising a fat blend comprising from 15 to 67        wt. % of a temper hard fat and from 85 to 33 wt. % of a liquid        oil by weight of the fat phase,    -   wherein the temper hard fat has a solid fat content of at least        60 wt. % at 20° C.,    -   wherein the liquid oil has a solid fat content of less than 15        wt. % at 20° C.,    -   wherein the fat blend has a saturated fatty acid residue content        of from 16 to 42 wt. % and a polyunsaturated fatty acid residue        content of less than 40 wt. %, based on the total weight of        fatty acid residues of the fat phase, and    -   wherein the total fat content of the emulsion-based filling is        from 15 to 30 wt. %.

The emulsion-based filling composition comprises a continuous and/or adiscontinuous fat phase.

It will be appreciated that the filling composition comprises the fatblend described herein and all aspects of the fat blend apply equally tothis aspect.

Preferably the emulsion-based filling composition has a total fatcontent of from 15 to 25 wt %, preferably 17 to 23 wt. %, preferablyfrom 19 to 21 wt. %.

According to a further aspect there is provided a filled bakery productcomprising a baked product and a filling composition as describedherein.

According to a further aspect there is provided a sandwich biscuit orsandwich soft cake comprising the filling composition as describedherein between first and second biscuit layers.

According to a further aspect there is provided a chocolate shellcontaining the filling composition as described herein. Preferably, thechocolate is a milk or a white chocolate, preferably a milk chocolate.

According to a further aspect there is provided a method for preparing afilled chocolate product, the method comprising:

-   -   providing a filling composition comprising at least one powdered        food ingredient and a fat blend comprising from 15 to 67 wt. %        of a temper hard fat and from 85 to 33 wt. % of a liquid oil,    -   tempering the filling composition to form a tempered filling        composition,    -   depositing the tempered filling composition on to at least one        surface of a chocolate product, wherein the surface of the        chocolate product has a temperature of less than 28° C., and    -   optionally coating the filling composition with chocolate,    -   actively cooling the deposited filling composition,    -   wherein in the step of depositing the tempered filling        composition, the tempered filling composition is deposited        having a temperature of from 20 to 30° C. and in the step of        actively cooling the deposited filling composition, the        deposited filling composition is cooled to a temperature of at        least 4° C. below the deposition temperature,    -   wherein the temper hard fat has a solid fat content of at least        60 wt. % at 20° C.    -   wherein the liquid oil has a solid fat content of less than 15        wt. % at 20° C., and    -   wherein the fat blend has a saturated fatty acid residue content        of from 16 to 42 wt. % and a polyunsaturated fatty acid residue        content of less than 40 wt. %, based on the total weight of        fatty acid residues of the fat blend.

According to a further aspect there is provided a method for preparing afilled chocolate product, the method comprising:

-   -   providing a filling composition comprising at least one powdered        food ingredient and a fat blend comprising from 15 to 67 wt. %        of a temper hard fat and from 85 to 33 wt. % of a liquid oil,    -   tempering the filling composition to form a tempered filling        composition,    -   depositing the tempered filling composition into a mould or onto        a surface to form a discrete body of deposited filling        composition, wherein the mould or surface has a temperature of        less than 36° C.,    -   actively cooling the discrete body,    -   optionally reheating the discrete body to a temperature of less        than 31° C., preferably to from 20 to 29° C.,    -   at least partially enrobing the discrete body with tempered        chocolate to form a filled chocolate product, and    -   cooling the filled chocolate product until the tempered        chocolate has solidified,    -   wherein in the step of depositing the tempered filling        composition, the tempered filling composition is deposited        having a deposition temperature of from 20 to 33° C. and in the        step of actively cooling the deposited filling composition, the        deposited filling composition is cooled to a temperature of at        least 4° C. below the deposition temperature,    -   wherein the temper hard fat has a solid fat content of at least        60 wt. % at 20° C.,    -   wherein the liquid oil has a solid fat content of less than 15        wt. % at 20° C., and    -   wherein the fat blend has a saturated fatty acid residue content        of from 16 to 42 wt. % and a polyunsaturated fatty acid residue        content of less than 40 wt. %, based on the total weight of        fatty acid residues of the fat blend.

The discrete body may be a slab, a bar, a drop or similar.

The reheating of the discrete body of deposited filling compositionhelps to prevent the chocolate contacting it from cooling too quicklyand allows the chocolate to remain glossy and keep well. In contrast, ifa thin coating (1-2 mm) of tempered chocolate were to be applied to thefilling which is, for instance at 12° C., chocolate will set veryrapidly, will be matt and will bloom quicker.

It has been found that the heat resistance of the filling describedherein is good (no oiling out, no fat bloom or visible giant crystalsforming in/on the filling) up to 30° C., even for long period of time(at least 11 weeks at 30° C.).

It should be noted that due to the tempering steps, the filling may bedeposited at 25° C. as a liquid, but once initially crystallised, remainsolid when reheated at 30° C.

According to a further aspect there is provided a filled chocolateproduct obtainable by the one of the methods described above.

Preferably each of the methods described herein includes a further stepof packaging the filled product.

FIGURES

The present disclosure will be described in relation to the followingnon-limiting FIGURES, in which:

FIG. 1 is a flow chart of the steps conducted in the present method.

In step (a) there is provided a fat blend comprising from 15 to 67 wt. %of a temper hard fat and from 85 to 33 wt. % of a liquid oil.

In step (b) the fat blend is fully melted and preferably well mixed.

In step (c) the remaining ingredients, including dry powder ingredientssuch as sugar and starch are added to form the filling. If necessary,the filling is reheated to fully melt the fat blend, then the filling istempered.

In step (d) the tempered filling composition is deposited onto a surfaceof a biscuit where the surface has a temperature of less than 36° C.

In step (e) the deposited filling composition is actively cooled withforced convection.

In step (f) the cooled product is packaged.

EXAMPLES

The present disclosure will now be described in relation to thefollowing non-limiting examples.

Example 1

An anhydrous filling was prepared in accordance with the presentdisclosure.

Table 1 gives the recipes of fillings, the tempering parameters and thehardness of the fillings after cooling and 14 days of ageing at 20° C.It is noted that in column C, the liquid oil denoted with “I” is Canolaoil.

(a) Recipes

8 recipes of fillings with a chocolate flavour (C to J) according to theinvention are given by Table 1 and the filling recipes X or Y below:

Filling recipe X (everything kept constant except the nature of the fatto study):

Icing sugar 58.23% Cocoa powder (11% fat)   13% Fat blend 28.57%(details in table 1) Soy lecithin  0.2% Total = 100% (30.2% fat)

Filling recipe Y:

Icing sugar 62.92% Cocoa powder (11% fat)  11.1% Fat blend 25.78%(details in table 1) Soy lecithin  0.2% Total = 100% (27.2% fat)

Temper hard fat used:

-   -   Cocoa butter from West Africa 64% safa, 3% PUFA and the        following SFC: SFC 20° C.=78%, SFC 30° C.=50%, SFC 35° C.=0%    -   or Illexao HS 90 (tropical CBI made from fractionated shea        butter, from AAK, Sweden), having 64% safa, 4% PUFA and the        following SFC: SFC 20° C.=84%, SFC 30° C.=81%, SFC 35° C.=68%,        SFC 40° C.=7%

Liquid oil used: regular and native rapeseed or high oleic sunflower(not fractionated). Each of these liquid oils has 7.6% safa and a SFC at20° C. of 0. Rapeseed has 30% PUFA and high oleic sunflower has 9% PUFA.

Table 1 also gives a comparative example “Comp-1” of a filling where allthe added fat is palm oil (refined bleached and deodorized). Indeed,this has a rather low safa for a filling for a dry sandwich biscuit, astypical added fats normally used are palm oil or palm oil fractions(typically 45-60% safa), or hydrogenated coconut oil (about 100% Safa)or blends of palm oil with either hydrogenated palm kernel oil orhydrogenated coconut oil (typically 66-75% safa), the safa % being basedon the total weight fatty acid residues of the fat blend added to thepowders to make the filling.

(b) Preparation of the Melted Filling

A filling was prepared using a Kenwood Major mixer with a K blade (3.5kg of filling per batch).

In an oven at 55° C. were placed:

-   -   the temper hard fat to melt overnight in a stainless steel        Kenwood mixer bowl    -   the liquid oil (initially stored at 10° C.) for about 3 hours to        reach 50° C.

All of the powders were premixed together. The liquid oil and lecithinwere added to the temper hard fat inside the Kenwood bowl and the fatphase was thoroughly premixed. The fat blend was at about 50-55° C. atthis point. The powder premix was added into the bowl and the fillingwas mixed using the Kenwood mixer for 5 minutes (at the maximum possiblespeed without splashing out), while maintaining the temperature at 45 to50° C. using a heat air gun if necessary. Two batches were prepared inthis manner to provide nearly 7 kg of filling available for tempering.

(c) Filling Crystallisation

Tempering was carried out using an Aasted AMK10 temper unit (the tankbeing full), with the pump set at 10 kg/H and the scrappers set atmaximum speed (i.e. maximum shear). The tank and decrystallisor beforetempering were at 45° C. (except at 55° C. for comparative example 1,due to his higher melting point). Then, the fillings were passedsuccessively through zone 1, then zone 2 and then zone 3, the 3 zoneshaving an independent temperature regulation. There is no aeration, asno air is injected. Tempering parameters are given in Table 1, and willbe further explained below.

About 30 minutes after reaching temperature equilibrium, depositing wascarried out at the temperature of the tempering zone 3, directly out ofthe exit pipe, on biscuits to make the sandwiches (see below) or inRodac plates for analysis. Rodac plates are standardized petri dishescommonly used in microbiology (cylinder of diameter 57 mm and 4.6 mmdeep).

The deposited fillings were cooled in a Sollich cooling tunnel (designedfor chocolate) with air convection at 10° C. Some of the Rodac platesamples were cooled for 3.5 minutes, others for 10.5 minutes. The Rodacplates were then stored at 20° C.+/−1° C.

(d) Characterisation Method for the Tempering Degree

Surprisingly, crystallization speed and final hardness were found to bedependent on tempering degree, especially for the fillings having thelowest safa (25% or less). A large number of nuclei is preferable inorder to obtain a quick crystallization and a harder fat. For chocolate,tempering degree is always measured by the temper index given by aclassical chocolate tempermeter (such as Sollich E2). Surprisingly, thistechnique does not work for the fillings according to the inventionwhich are always seen as not tempered whatever the tempering processparameters used. This is particular problematic. The present inventorshave developed an alternative simple method (called H3.5, shorthand for“Hardness at 3.5 min”) to estimate the tempering of the fillings hereinby the hardness of the filling, measured by a penetrometer technique,after 3.5 minutes of cooling. This method involves:

-   -   filling Rodac plates (stored at room temperature, i.e. 25 to 26°        C.) with tempered filling at the exit of the temperunit, and        scrapping-off the excess of filling to make a flat surface. The        scrapper is clean and is at room temperature.    -   immediately cooling the Rodac plates (without cover) in a        Sollich cooling tunnel for chocolate with air convection at        10° C. for 3.5 minutes and measuring the hardness immediately        with the procedure below.

The hardness of the filling crystallized in Rodac plates is measuredwith a TAXT2-plus texture analyser with the following procedure “P”:

-   -   put a Rodac plate on a suitable support to avoid the bottom of        the plate to move (vertically or horizontally)    -   a right cylinder probe of 10 mm diameter is moved down at a        speed of 1 mm/s and the resulting force is recorded over time    -   hardness is taken as the force after the probe penetrates the        filling by 2 mm    -   the final result, expressed in grams at 2 mm, is the mean of 3        measures.    -   It is critical to make the measurements quickly (as the texture        is evolving) and to take all precautions to minimize filling's        temperature changes (using isolation from hands and from the        TAXT-2 support plate which is hot).

The higher the H3.5, the higher the degree of tempering (i.e. the higherthe degree of nucleation and growth during the tempering process). WhenH3.5 hardness is very low, typically <100 (e.g. 40 for example G′ inTable 1), the filling is not tempered. Preferably the filling has aH3.5 >100, much preferably >200, preferably >500 and even morepreferably >800 g.

(e) Analysis of Final Filling Hardness

To evaluate the final texture for the consumer, we evaluated the finalhardness of the fillings with the following procedure:

-   -   filling Rodac plates as before, but cooling them for 10.5 min        instead of 3.5 min inside the cooling tunnel.    -   storing them (with cover added) at 20+/−0.2° C. for 14 days    -   measuring by penetrometry at 20° C. with the same procedure “P”        as explained before, except that we report the mean of 6        measures (maximum 2 or 3 values per Rodac plate to avoid        artefacts due to interactions with wall sides and previous        measurement holes): this measurement is termed “H14day20° C.”    -   measuring the hardness of the filling at 25° C., after placing        the Rodac plates (previously stored at 20° C.) at 25° C. to        equilibrate for 12-24 hours before measurement. This measurement        is termed H14day25° C., measured at 25° C. after 14 days of        storage at 20° C.

(f) Conclusions

The following conclusions may be drawn in relation to the influence ofthe recipe.

The typical target for the hardness of a filling for a sandwich biscuitis 3000 to 8000 g at 20° C. and minimum 1500 to 2000 g at 25° C.Although not preferred, it is possible to make sandwiches with 1000 g at20° C. and 500 at 25° C.

Comp-1 filling has similar hardness at 20° C. to filling F, although ithas 67% more Safa (49.4% vs 29.5%). In addition, it is 2 to 3 timessofter at 25° C., demonstrating a lower heat resistance at 25° C.

It can clearly be seen that for the fillings of the invention, thehardness at 20 and 25° C. is strongly correlated with the ratio oftemper hard fat to liquid oil, and so with the Safa level of the fatblend or of the filling.

However, the hardness also depends on the nature of the temper hard fat,especially its Ratio A: Illexao HS90 enables lower Safa for the samehardness, and also higher heat resistance/melting range compared withCB:

-   -   a fat blend with 36% Illexao CBI (filling F, 29.5% Safa) gives        about the same hardness at 20° C. as 47% CB (filling D, 35.3%        Safa, having about 20% more Safa). However, the hardness at        25° C. is even much lower for filling D despite its higher safa,        demonstrating a higher heat resistance for hotter climate        conditions with Illexao HS90.    -   Fillings E and F have the same Safa and the same ratio of hard        temper fat/liquid oil. However, filling F, having a lower Ratio        A, gives much higher hardness at 20° C. and especially even much        higher at 25° C. (demonstrating a higher melting range). The        higher melting range can also be seen by the observed DSC        melting peak and endset (not shown here to simplify).

This data demonstrates that Illexao HS90 is more effective than CBbecause less temper hard fat is needed for a given hardness, enablingSafa reduction and cost saving while increasing the heat resistance.However, fillings using CB as temper hard fat are still goodalternatives, as filling D with a high temper is a bit harder thanComp-1 at 20° C. and much harder at 25° C., although comp-1 filling has40% more safa. Indeed, cocoa butter may be desirable since it is morereadily available than shea butter.

There is no significant difference in saturated fat and final hardnessif high oleic sunflower oil is used instead of canola as the liquid oilfor a given recipe. This can be seen by comparing fillings G and H.

The following conclusions can be drawn in relation to the influence ofthe tempering process parameters:

-   -   It was found that a lower depositing temperature gives higher        H3.5 values, and that this is usually correlated with higher        final filling hardness H14day20° C. However there are some        exceptions, especially when the Safa becomes low (equal to or        below 25 to 30%) and the depositing temperature is also low        (very high temper): for fillings G′″ and H′″, H14day20° C. can        become lower when low depositing temperature are used. This        indicates that the filling is “plasticised” (as indicated in the        Table 1) and the texture is irreversibly damaged, because there        was too much crystallization under shear and not enough without        shear.    -   Plasticisation has not previously been reported with temper        fats, but the present inventors have found that when the filling        has a Safa of at most 30%, and especially at most 25%, it        becomes very sensitive to plasticisation. This means a higher        degree of tempering gives both a higher crystallization speed        (H3.5) and a higher final hardness, if and only if, there is        still enough fat to crystallize without shear (otherwise, the        fat is plasticised and final hardness H14day20° C. and/or        H14day25° C. is decreased).    -   By comparison, for chocolate (having cocoa butter as a classical        temper fat but no added oil), a higher temper index gives a        higher crystallization speed but has no impact on final texture,        because even if overtempered, chocolate has a very small portion        of its temper fat which is crystalized under shear. Also as        known by the chocolatier, an overtempered chocolate is not        optimum, as having too many crystals increases the fat bloom        risk compared with a well-tempered chocolate. This is not the        case for the fillings disclosed herein.    -   Tempering parameters should be selected to enable maximum        H14day20° C. (final hardness) and H3.5 (related to        “crystallization speed”). If the filling hardness is too high,        it is better not to lower it by plasticizing the fat: it is        better to use less temper hard fat and more liquid oil, as this        will reduce safa and cost.    -   It is possible to aerate the filling during or after tempering        (preferably during): bubbles are better stabilized when the fat        has a high tempering degree (more crystals), i.e. a high H3.5.

Example 2

In this Example, dry sandwich biscuits were prepared in accordance withthe invention.

Biscuits were prepared based on classical sandwich biscuits. The doughingredients are wheat flour, wholegrain wheat flour, sucrose, rapeseedoil, whole and skimmed milk powder, glucose syrup, salt, flavouringagents, soy lecithin, baking powder and a suitable amount of water forworkability of the sheeting process.

The round biscuits were made by lamination (sheeting) of the dough, cut,glazing (with whole milk powder and water) and baking in a continuousoven. After baking, they contained 50% starch, 23% sugars, 11% totalfat, 8% proteins, 4.6% fibers, 2.1% moisture and 1.8% ash (values w/w,rounded to the nearest whole number above 5%). They had a diameter of 66mm and a thickness of 5.1 to 5.2 mm.

After baking, the biscuits were cooled to 28 to 30° C., and roomtemperature at the depositing stage was 26° C.

Previous tempered fillings were produced as indicated above except fortwo points:

-   -   tempering parameters were chosen to maximize final hardness        while having H3.5 of at least 800    -   in addition, the filling was aerated inside the AMK10. For this,        a restricting valve was placed at the exit of the temperunit and        was adjusted to set the relative pressure between the pump and        the temperunit heat exchangers to 1-2 bar; air was injected        between the pump and the heat exchanger of the temperunit in a        quantity enabling a final density of 1050 g/l (compared to ˜1300        g/l before aeration).

From the temperer exit, a spot of 7 g of filling was deposited at thecenter of a first biscuit base and then a second biscuit was placed ontop and pressed immediately to make a sandwich biscuit with a fillingthickness of 2.5 to 3.2 mm.

The face of the base biscuits touching the filling were those withoutglazing. The final product contained 35% filling and 65% biscuit.

The sandwich biscuits were cooled immediately as described for the Rodacplates in Example 1, and were then stabilized at 20° C. for 3 days.

Tasting and Keeping Tests

After the three days of stabilization, the Rodac and sandwich biscuitswere stored in parallel at 4 temperature conditions:

-   -   Isothermally at 16, 20 and 25° C.    -   At ambient temperature (between about 15 to 27° C.).

Products were tasted at 14 days: all fillings were firm to very firm(this correlates well with the hardness measured at 20° C. after 14days) and were strongly stuck to the biscuit bases.

When eaten separately by carefully opening the sandwich, the fillingsall had a clean melting without waxiness except the comp-1 which wasless melting and had some waxiness due to incomplete melting in themouth. Flavour release for the fillings C to I was really very pleasant,like in chocolate, and much better than the comp-1 filling; the moremelting/higher flavour release were found to be for the lowest safa (I,then H and G).

Filling J was the best compromise for making sandwich biscuits. It wasless hard than Comp-1 at 20° C. (H14day20° C.), but has a similarhardness at 25° C. (H14day25° C.) and it is still acceptably hard formaking sandwich biscuits. The softer texture compared to filling F isthe consequence of less hard temper fat and more canola oil used, whichprovides two benefits: a significant safa reduction (Comp-1 had 2.15times more safa than filling J, i.e. +115%: 49.4 vs 23%) and a costsaving (canola being much cheaper than Illexao HS90). In addition,although filling J had 10% less fat and 15% less cocoa powder than theothers, it was still pleasant and had a viscosity in mouth and a flavorrelease similar to Comp-1.

In Table 1, and when no other indication is given, safa levels areindicated based on the total weight of fatty acid residues of the fat(either in the fat blend, in the total fat of the filling or in the fatphase for an emulsion). Because fillings do not only contain fat butalso a lot of sugar and other powders, safa expressed per 100 g offilling are much lower. For instance, filling J had 21.3% safa based onthe total weight of fatty acid residues of the fat blend added, and 23%safa based on the total weight of fatty acid residues of the total fat(with the fatty acid residues coming not only from the added fat blendbut also cocoa powder and lecithin) but only 6.3% safa based on thetotal weight of filling (23% safa based on total fat×27.2% total fat).

Filling Comp-1 had 49.4% safa based on the total weight of fatty acidresidues of the total fat, and 14.9% safa based on the total weight offilling (49.4% safa based on total fat×30.2% total fat).

The Comp-1 filling therefore had 2.37 times more safa than filling Jwhen expressed on the total weight of filling (14.9% vs 6.3%), althoughthe difference was only 2.15 times when expressed on the total weight offatty acid residues of the total fat.

Fillings C to J were tasted again after 9 months in the said storageconditions: neither Rodac (not aerated) nor sandwich biscuits (aeratedand with biscuit-filling interaction) showed bad evolution (no presenceof oiling off, visible oil migration, fat bloom or recrystallization ingiant crystals).

Chemical analysis (in duplicate) of the total fat content in sandwichbiscuits made with filling H and stored for six months under either 18°C. and 25° C. (+1-0.2° C.) have demonstrated there is no significanttotal fat change neither in the filling nor in the base biscuit(comparing with analysis of fresh sandwich biscuits or with theoreticalrecipes). There is also no significant total fat change for sandwichesmade with filling G stored at ambient temperature for 11 months. Thisdemonstrates that there is no fat migration, even with very low safa inthe filling (24.4% based on the total weight of fatty acid residues ofthe total fat) and very high liquid oil in the fat blend (73%), and thiswas found to be the case whether the liquid oil in the filling was higholeic sunflower oil or rapeseed oil (the biscuit being made withrapeseed oil).

Example 3

An emulsion filling was prepared in accordance with the presentinvention.

The recipe of an emulsion filling with a flavor of milk chocolate isgiven below:

Mixing step Ingredient % 1.1 Regular Rapeseed oil (liquid oil) 15.80 1.1Illexao HS90 (temper hard fat) 8.90 1.2 Icing sugar 19.21 1.2 Dextrosemonohydrate 19.43 1.2 Cocoa powder 11% fat 7.61 1.2 Skimmed Milk Powder7.61 2. Emulsifier (aqueous gel of 1.50 E471 + E475, 37% water) 2.Glycerol 2.50 2. Potassium sorbate powder 0.20 2. Water 17.24 Total100.0 Total moisture content % = 20.0 Total fat content % = 26.1

The fat phase comprises the added fat blend, which comprise 36% oftemper hard fat and 64% of liquid oil. The nature of the two fats makingthe fat blend is about the same than in Example 1-recipe F. The fatblend here has 27.9% safa (based on the total weight of fatty acidresidues of the fat blend).

The filling has 30.2% safa based on the total weight of fatty acidresidues of the total fat and 7.9% (30.2×26.1%) safa based on the totalweight of filling.

Ingredient Mixing Procedure:

Step 1.1: The rapeseed oil and temper hard fat are placed at 51° C. topreheat and melt, then are premixed to make a fat blend (containing 36%of temper hard fat) and adjusted to 50° C.

Step 1.2:

-   -   a) The powdered ingredients of this step are premixed together    -   b) And are then added and dispersed well within the fat blend of        step 1.1.

Step 2: A premix is made with all the ingredients of step 2 (at 40 to45° C.).

Step 3: The premix of step 2 is added inside the premix of step 1.2 andadjusted to 45 to 50° C.

Steps 1.1, step 1.2 b) and step 3 are carried out inside a planetarymixer with a double jacket at 50° C. to control temperature. Step 2 iscarried out by hand in a big bucket.

The fillings have 20% moisture, a density of 1140 g/l and an Aw of0.72+/−0.03.

Filling Tempering and Aeration:

The emulsion filling prepared in step 3, being at 50° C., is pumped (10kg/H) successively to a Chemtech scrapped surface heat exchanger (SSHE)and to a Mini Mondomix Aerator to be successively tempered and aerated.All metallic equipment pieces (including pumps, pipes and valves) arestainless steel.

The infeed tank, the pump and pipe before the SSHE are double jacket andheated with water at 50° C.

The SSHE has a double jacket supplied with 20° C. water: the fillingexit is at 23° C. It immediately entered the Aerator (with a doublejacket supplied with 15° C. water).

The pipe between SSHE and Aerator is short and jacketed with water at23.5° C. Air is supplied at the Mondomix entrance at a flow rateenabling a density of 730 g/l, and a backpressure enables a relativepressure of 3.5 bar to be maintained inside the Mondomix. The fillingexit the aerator at 24° C. being tempered and aerated (730 g/l) in avery stable foam.

The emulsion is bi-continuous: some parts are water continuous, othersare fat continuous.

Some filling in deposited/forced into a Rodac plate just after the exitof the Mondomix, and sent to a Sollich cooling tunnel for chocolate withair convection at 10° C. for 11 minutes: hardness measured withprocedure “P” out of the cooling tunnel (filling temperature being 15°C.) is about 110 g.

After 1 day of storage at 20° C., the hardness (still measured with thesame procedure) is 170 g.

This value is much lower than for the anhydrous fillings (due mainly tothe emulsion and also to the high aeration), but the filling mousse ishowever very useful to make a soft sandwich filling due to the highfilling stickiness.

Base Soft Cake:

To make the sandwiches, commercial soft “sponge” cakes sheets are used.These are sold in France for instance by “Club Restauration” under thebrand “Jean Ducourtieux”. It is sponge cake sold in large sheets of 8 mmthick. They are classically used by pâtissiers to make “fraisiers” or“bûches” or swiss roll cakes for instance.

The composition of these sheets is: wheat flour, eggs, sucrose,glucose-fructose syrup, stabilisers (glycerol, sorbitol), flavoringagents, rapeseed oil, skimmed milk powder, emulsifiers: soy lecithin,E471, E475, salt, baking powders (E450i, E500ii).

Nutritional/analytical values for 100 g: 7.8% protein, 58.3%carbohydrates (of which 31.8% sugars and 23.5% starch), 8.8% lipids,6.4% polyols, 1% fibre and 17% water. Aw=0.71.

Round pieces of diameter about 64 mm were cut in the sponge cake,weighing 6.2 g each. A soft cake sandwich was made using two such cakepieces and about 6.7 g of emulsion filling of Example 3 (35% of fillingin the sandwich soft cake).

The soft cakes round pieces were at room temperature (25° C.), and thefilling out of the aerator was deposited manually in a spot at thecentre of a first cake disk, then a second cake was placed on it. Thiswas pressed between two parallel planes to spread the filling until itreached about 3 mm from the edges/sides.

The sandwich soft cakes were then sent immediately to a Sollich coolingtunnel for chocolate with air convection at 10° C. for 11 minutes,before being individually packed in flow pack made with classicalaluminium-plastic complex having very good moisture and UV barrierproperties.

The sandwich soft cakes had a nice soft texture, both in the cake and inthe filling. The filling stuck the two cakes together, and had a verynice melting and flavour release. Sandwiches remained stable for 6months at 20° C.

Example 4

It is known that any oil migrating into chocolate is likely to inducefat bloom on the chocolate surface. This is due to the recrystallizationof cocoa butter in big crystals which are visible with the naked eye.

In Example 4 a filling according to the invention, containing a lot ofliquid oil, is covered with milk chocolate to study its compatibility.

Method:

-   -   Proportion of components: 75% filling/25% chocolate    -   Thickness of chocolate: 0.9 mm (corresponding to the minimum        mean thickness of any chocolate application).    -   Filling composition: see recipe K in Table 2    -   Chocolate: milk chocolate of the Milkatm brand (Mondelez        International), having 29.5% total fat (including 4.8% anhydrous        milk fat, and not containing cocoa butter equivalent). To        improve the spreading of this very thin chocolate layer, 1%        cocoa butter and 0.5% PGPR was added (mixed at 45° C.).

This model test is very strict because any fat migration from thefilling to the chocolate surface will be quick due to:

-   -   very low chocolate thickness    -   high filling/chocolate ratio (75/25)    -   no filling aeration    -   liquid chocolate enrobing the filling before crystallization        (liquid chocolate is not resistant to oil migration)

The test therefore represents a worse case test.

Process:

-   -   The filling is prepared, tempered and cooled as in Example 1,        with tempering parameters as in Table 2 (column K). 2 types of        Rodac plates were prepared:        -   Some plates (a) are prepared as in Example 1 (filled to the            top and scraped), then stored 14 days at 20° C. They were            later used to measure hardness (by penetrometry) and melting            (by a Mettler DSC-1), as indicated previously. Results are            in Table 2.        -   Other Rodac plates (b) are not filed to the top, but only            with 9 g (exactly) of filling per plate            -   Rodac plates then receive (immediately after depositing)                adequate shaking to flatten the filling surface            -   Filling in Rodac plates is then crystallised in the                cooling tunnel as in Example 1.            -   These plates are later used for contacting with                chocolate.            -   Chocolate dosing:                -   Filling in Rodac plates (b) is first stabilized 3                    days at 18° C., then reheated at 26 to 27° C. for 2H                    just before to dose the chocolate (in particular to                    help the chocolate spreading).                -   The milk chocolate is tempered with an Aasted AMK10                    used at 10 kg/H, with a chocolate exit temperature                    of 26° C. Using a Sollich E2 tempermeter, the                    chocolate temper index is 5.8 and the                    crystallization temperature 23.2° C.                -   3 g (exactly) of the milk chocolate is deposited on                    the surface of the filling inside the Rodac plate,                    using a syringe.                -   To get a uniform flat chocolate layer of 0.9 mm                    thickness, three specific techniques are used:                    depositing with the syringe covers initially most of                    the surface, then a microbiology plastic spreader is                    used immediately to improve the spread, followed by                    adequate shaking.                -   Both said syringe and microbiology spreader are                    clean and initially stored at the same temperature                    as the chocolate exit temperature.                -   The chocolate is then crystallised in a Sollich                    cooling tunnel with air convection at 12° C. and low                    air speed during 10 minutes (common best practice                    for a thin milk chocolate layer).

Keeping Tests with Filling and Chocolate:

-   -   Rodac plates (b), containing the chocolate on top of the        filling, are stabilized 3 days at 18° C.    -   Then, they are stored in 3 conditions, indicated below:    -   Inspection for fat bloom on the chocolate was done visually (by        naked eye), each week during 42 weeks:

Storage conditions: Fat bloom result: a) Isothermal 25° C. No bloomafter 42 weeks (end of the test) b) Isothermal 18° C. Slight bloomappeared after 29 weeks (but still only very slightly visible after 42weeks, i.e. probably not seen by consumers) c) Room temperature Slightbloom appeared after 32 weeks (but (20 to 27° C.) still only veryslightly visible after 42 weeks, i.e. probably not seen by consumers)

Here isothermal means+/−0.5° C.

From our experience, no bloom after 12 weeks at 25° C. is desirable.

These results shows there is no bloom under any of conditions tested(between 18 and 27° C.) over a period of about 7 months (29 weeks), andthat any bloom observed after was only very slightly visible forexperts—this suggests that it will not be an issue for consumers. Asindicated earlier, this is a worse case test: for thicker chocolate,aerated filling and/or lower filling/chocolate ratio, the compatibilitywill be higher, i.e. the resistance to bloom will be extended.

Note that typical fat blends compatible with chocolate in term of fatbloom generally have more than 55% safa, whereas the filling K accordingto the invention has only 24.5% safa in the fat blend, i.e. a safareduction of 55% (based on the total weight of fatty acid residues ofthe fat blend).

Example 5

Harder recipes L, M, N and O were made and analysed with the samemethods as in Example 1: recipes L to O have higher safa % than recipesF to J, and can be used to replace harder fillings or to get a higherheat resistance.

Melting points have also been characterised by DSC as explained inExample 4, for these new recipes and also for recipe J (trials alreadygiven in Table 1, but without DSC results). For recipes C to I, adifferent DSC equipment and method was used: the results cannot becompared directly and therefore are not reported.

Recipes, tempering parameters and analytical results are given in Table2. It can be seen that hardness at 20 and 25° C. and melting temperature(and thus the heat resistance) all increase with the proportion of thetemper hard fat (Illexao HS90).

However, all recipes J to 0 are very pleasant during tasting—they fullymelted in mouth, as confirmed by DSC. Their melting peaks are from 31.6to 34.7° C. and their endset of melting is from 33.8 to 36.7° C.

Examples 1 and 5 demonstrate how versatile the invention is, since bychanging the proportion of the same temper hard fat (Illexao HS90) andliquid oil (canola or sunflower oil), fillings can be made having ahardness at 20° C. of about 1300 g for filling I (having 17.2% safabased on the total weight of fatty acid residues of the fat blend) toabout 13200 g (10 times more) for filling 0 (having 38.6% safa). At 25°C., the hardness range is from about 600 g for filling I to about 9500 g(about 16 times more) for filling 0.

Example 6

Table 3 presents control trials to demonstrate the effect of temperingand active cooling for fillings according to the invention. Fillingrecipes K and J are the same as in the previous examples. They arefilled and scrapped in Rodac plates (as explained in Example 1), butwith various crystallization conditions:

-   -   with or without tempering (in that case, the filling is        deposited at 45° C.)    -   Cooling:        -   active in a cooling tunnel with forced air convection        -   passive at 18° C. and at 25° C. in a room (without forced            air convection).

Fillings in Rodac plates are then stored during 2 weeks (conditionsindicated in Table 3). Then:

-   -   a visual inspection is done to evaluate the crystallization    -   3 Rodac plates are put for 1 day at 20° C. to measure hardness        at 20° C. and DSC, as indicated in previous examples    -   2 other Rodac plates are put for 1 day at 25° C. to measure        hardness at 25° C.

The analysis on Rodacs is reported in Table 3 as shown in the lineslabelled “Final product”.

As can be seen:

-   -   Non-tempered fillings are much softer at 20 and 25° C. than        tempered fillings. They are also very grainy when no active        cooling is applied, but also slightly grainy even with an active        cooling (grainy is in appearance and texture). Their melting and        flavor release is also much less pleasant, as their endset is        from 38.4 to 40.3° C.: this is 4.6° C. higher than for the        tempered fillings (in average for the 3 cooling conditions) and        this is also now above mouth temperature.    -   When filling is tempered properly (Recipe J), an active cooling        is still preferred, especially to have a better appearance.    -   When no tempering is applied, an active cooling gives higher        hardness than passive cooling, but they are still much lower        than with tempering. This demonstrates that tempering and an        active cooling allow the provision of fillings according to the        invention which are harder, with nice appearance (shiny, no        bloom, homogeneous) and with a nice texture and a full melting        in mouth. Full melting also means full flavor release and the        lowest viscosity as possible in mouth.

Unless otherwise stated, all percentages herein are by weight.

The foregoing detailed description has been provided by way ofexplanation and illustration, and is not intended to limit the scope ofthe appended claims. Many variations in the presently preferredembodiments illustrated herein will be apparent to one of ordinary skillin the art, and remain within the scope of the appended claims and theirequivalents.

TABLE 1 example 1 Recipe code Comp 1 C D E F G H I J Fat blend and CodeFilling recipe X X X X X X X X Y filling % fat in filing 30.2 30.2 30.230.2 30.2 30.2 30.2 30.2 27.2 composition Nature of the liquid oil none/ Canola Canola Canola Canola high oleic high oleic Canola sunflowersunflower % liquid oil (canola or ho 0 41 53 63.7 63.9 73.4 73.4 8375.75 sunflower) % Cocoa Butter 0 59 47 11.4 0 0 0 0 0 % Illexao HS90 00 0 24.9 36.1 26.6 26.6 17 24.25 % 100 RBD 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Other FatPalm Ratio A of the temper hard fat 90 41 41 17 7 7 7 7 7 % Safa (intotal fatty acids of 49 40.9 34.1 28.1 28 22.6 22.6 17.2 21.3 added fatblend) % Safa (in total fatty acids of 49.4 41.7 35.3 29.6 29.5 24.424.4 19.3 23.0 total fat in filing) Tempering code Comp- C′ C″ D′ D″ E′F′ F″ G′ G″ Tempering Comment on tempering type Low high Low high temperLow high Too Low high temper temper temper temper temper temper tempertemper Filling temperature 37.1 30.4 29 29 26.6 24 32 32 31.8 31 (° C.)ex zone 1 Filing temperature 32.2 22.8 23 22 21.7 22.8 23 26 23.7 23 (°C.) ex zone 2 Water Jacket temperature NA 12 12 12 12 12 12 18 15 15 (°C.) in zone 2 Filling temperature 31.2 28.5 27 27.1 25.6 28.8 30.2 23.530.6 27.7 (° C.) ex zone 3 H3.5 (Hardness in g @ 2 mm, 1162 1068 2958702 1105 1300 1822 4113 40 1266 after 3′30″ at 10° C.) Final productHardness (g @ 2 mm) day 14 7150 14019 16442 6931 8291 4374 8274 70562874 3847 20° C. = H14 day 20° C. Hardness (g @ 2 mm) day 14 1746 67499456 3397 3257 1718 5613 4180 1440 2253 25° C. = H14 day 25° C. Ratiohardness 25° C./ 24 48 58 49 39 39 68 59 50 59 hardness 20° C. (%rounded) Tempering code G′″ H′ H″ H′″ I′ I″ I′″ J′ J″ J′″ TemperingComment on tempering type PL* Low high PL* Low high ok ok Low tempertemper temper temper temper Filling temperature 29 33 28.2 28 28.5 29 2825.8 25.7 26.2 (° C.) ex zone 1 Filing temperature 21 24.8 23.7 21.4 2122 20 23.8 24.1 24.4 (° C.) ex zone 2 Water Jacket temperature 10 15 1815 15 15 15 18 18 18 (° C.) in zone 2 Filling temperature 21.6 28.8 26.321.2 26.3 23 21 26.5 28.3 29.5 (° C.) ex zone 3 H3.5 (Hardness in g @ 2mm, NA 1370 1651 NA 904 875 1069 1040 900 980 after 3′30″ at 10° C.)Final product Hardness (g @ 2 mm) day 14 1550 3033 5815 1223 1396 12561337 3048 3340 2978 20° C. = H14 day 20° C. Hardness (g @ 2 mm) day 14985 1413 3916 783 597 585 642 1798 1775 1410 25° C. = H14 day 25° C.Ratio hardness 25° C./ 64 47 67 64 43 47 48 59 53 47 hardness 20° C. (%rounded) *PL = Plasticised

TABLE 2 (Examples 4 and 5) J (recall from table 1, with Recipe code newDSC results) K L M N O Fat blend Code Filling recipe Y X X X X X andfilling % fat in filling 27.2 30.2 30.2 30.2 30.2 30.2 compositionNature of the liquid oil Canola Canola Canola Canola Canola Canola %liquid oil (canola or ho sunflower) 75.75 70 60 54 50 45 in the fatblend % Illexao HS90 in the fat blend 24.25 30 40 46 50 55 Ratio A ofthe temper hard fat 7 7 7 7 7 7 % Safa (in total fatty acids of addedfat blend) 21.3 24.5 30.2 33.5 35.8 38.6 % Safi (in total fatty acids oftotal fat in filling) 23.0 26.2 31.6 34.8 36.9 39.6 Tempering code J′ J″J′″ / / / / / Tempering Comment on tempering type ok ok Low ok ok ok okok temper Filling temperature (° C.) ex zone 1 25.8 25.7 26.2 28.7 27.525.6 26.2 26.2 Filling temperature (° C.) ex zone 2 23.8 24.1 24.4 2423.6 22.8 23 23 Water Jacket temperature (° C.) in zone 2 18 18 18 18 1818 18 18 Filling temperature (° C.) ex zone 3 26.5 28.3 29.5 25.8 27.127.1 27.2 27.2 H3.5 (Hardness in g @ 2 mm, after 3′30″ at 10° C.) 1040900 980 2500 5910 6928 7900 10174 Final Hardness (g @ 2 mm) day 14 20°C. = H14 day 20° C. 3048 3340 2978 3833 7414 9849 10681 13188 productHardness (g @ 2 mm) day 14 25° C. = H14 day 25° C. 1798 1775 1410 16734097 6850 7271 9517 Ratio hardness 25° C./hardness 20° C. (% rounded) 5953 47 44 55 70 68 72 Melting Peak temperature ° C. (by DSC at 2° C./min)31.7 31.6 31.9 32.0 33.2 33.9 34.1 34.7 Endset melting temperature ° C.(by DSC at 2° C./min) 33.9 34.1 33.8 34.2 35.4 35.9 36.2 36.7

TABLE 3 Recipe code J Tempering Tempering Tempered (as in Not tempered &Cooling Table 3, J′) Cooling Temperature (° C.) 12 18 25 12 18 Active(convection cooling Active Passive Passive Active Passive tunnel) orPassive (cooling in a room) Storage Storage temperature (° C.) 18 18 2518 18 Storage time (days) 14 14 14 14 14 Final Hardness (g @ 2 mm) 30483000 2733 1814 703 product day 14 20° C. = H14 day 20° C. Hardness (g @2 mm) 1798 1715 1408 739 356 day 14 25° C. = H14 day 25° C. Melting Peaktemperature ° C. 31.7 32.2 33.4 34.6 34.4 (by DSC at 2° C./min) Endsetmelting temperature ° C. 33.9 34.3 35.1 38.4 38.4 (by DSC at 2° C./min)Visual appearance of the filling Perfect Acceptable: Acceptable:Slightly Very grainy (not SURFACE after 14 days of said (homogeneous,homogeneous, homogeneous, grainy, homogeneous), storage. shiny, no nobloom but no bloom but but no with some dots bloom) matt. matt. bloom.which could be beginning of fat bloom/fat fractionation. Recipe code J KTempering Tempering Not tempered Tempered as in Not tempered & CoolingTable 3 Cooling Temperature (° C.) 25 12 18 25 Active (convectioncooling Passive Active Passive Passive tunnel) or Passive (cooling in aroom) Storage Storage temperature (° C.) 25 18 18 25 Storage time (days)14 14 14 14 Final Hardness (g @ 2 mm) 567 3833 1170 782 product day 1420° C. = H14 day 20° C. Hardness (g @ 2 mm) 261 1673 912 452 day 14 25°C. = H14 day 25° C. Melting Peak temperature ° C. 38.2 (by DSC at 2°C./min) Endset melting temperature ° C. 40.3 (by DSC at 2° C./min)Visual appearance of the filling Very Perfect Very grainy (not VerySURFACE after 14 days of said grainy and (homogeneous, homogeneous),grainy and storage. with fat shiny, no with some dots with fat bloom.bloom) which could be bloom. beginning of fat bloom/fat fractionation.

1. A method for preparing a filled bakery product, the methodcomprising: providing a filling composition comprising at least onepowdered food ingredient and a fat blend comprising from 15 to 67 wt. %of a temper hard fat and from 85 to 33 wt. % of a liquid oil, temperingthe filling composition to form a tempered filling composition,depositing the tempered filling composition on to at least one surfaceof a bakery product to form a filled bakery product, wherein the surfaceof the bakery product has a temperature of less than 36° C., andactively cooling the deposited filling composition, wherein in the stepof depositing the tempered filling composition, the tempered fillingcomposition is deposited at a deposition temperature of from 20 to 33°C. and, in the step of actively cooling the deposited fillingcomposition, the deposited filling composition is cooled to atemperature of at least 4° C. below the deposition temperature, whereinthe temper hard fat has a solid fat content of at least 60 wt. % at 20°C., wherein the liquid oil has a solid fat content of less than 15 wt. %at 20° C., and wherein the fat blend has a saturated fatty acid residuecontent of from 16 to 42 wt. % and a polyunsaturated fatty acid residuecontent of less than 40 wt. %, based on the total weight of fatty acidresidues of the fat blend.
 2. The method according to claim 1, whereinthe fat blend has a trans fatty acid residue content of less than 5 wt.%
 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the temper hard fat has aRatio A of less than 45%, more preferably less than 38%, more preferablyless than 30%, still more preferably less than 20% and most preferablyfrom 1 to 10%, wherein the Ratio A is the proportion of saturated fattyacid residues having 16 or fewer carbon atoms relative to the totalnumber of saturated fatty acid residues of the temper hard fat.
 4. Themethod according to claim 1, wherein the temper hard fat is a sheastearin, preferably having a SUS-triglyceride content of at least 75 wt.%, preferably at least 85 wt. %.
 5. The method according to claim 1,wherein the liquid oil is selected from the group consisting of canolaoil, rapeseed oil, sunflower oil, soy oil, peanut oil, corn oil,cottonseed oil, olive oil, and mixtures of two or more thereof,preferably wherein the liquid oil is native canola oil, soy oil, or amixture thereof.
 6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the fatblend has a saturated fatty acid residue content of from 16 to 35 wt. %,preferably from 16 to 30 wt. %, more preferably from 16 to 25%, stillmore preferably from 17 to 23 wt. %, based on the total weight of fattyacid residues of the fat blend.
 7. The method according to claim 1,wherein the tempered filling composition is aerated to decrease itsdensity to from 650 to 1300 g/L preferably to from 700 to 1200 g/L, morepreferably to from 950 to 1190 g/L, prior to the step of depositing thetempered filling composition.
 8. The method according to claim 1,wherein in the step of actively cooling the deposited fillingcomposition, the deposited filling composition is cooled to atemperature of at least 5° C., preferably at least 6° C., morepreferably at least 7° C., and most preferably from 8 to 10° C. belowthe deposition temperature.
 9. The method according to claim 1, whereinthe bakery product has a fat content of less than 18 wt. %, preferablyless than 16 wt. %, more preferably less than 14 wt. %, still morepreferably less than 12 wt. %, and most preferably from 6 to 12 wt. %.10. The method according to claim 1, wherein the bakery productcomprises a liquid oil selected from the group consisting of canola oil,rapeseed oil, sunflower oil, soy oil, peanut oil, corn oil, cottonseedoil, olive oil, and mixtures of two or more thereof, preferably whereinthe liquid oil is native canola oil, soy oil, or a mixture thereof, andmost preferably wherein the liquid oil of the bakery product and theliquid oil of the fat blend are the same.
 11. A filled bakery productobtainable by the method of claim
 1. 12-13. (canceled)
 14. Anemulsion-based filling composition for a bakery product, theemulsion-based filling composition comprising a fat phase and an aqueousphase, the fat phase comprising a fat blend comprising from 15 to 67 wt.% of a temper hard fat and from 85 to 33 wt. % of a liquid oil by weightof the fat phase, wherein the temper hard fat has a solid fat content ofat least 60 wt. % at 20° C., wherein the liquid oil has a solid fatcontent of less than 15 wt. % at 20° C., wherein the fat blend has asaturated fatty acid residue content of from 16 to 42 wt. % and apolyunsaturated fatty acid residue content of less than 40 wt. %, basedon the total weight of fatty acid residues of the fat phase, and whereinthe total fat content of the emulsion-based filling is from 15 to 30 wt.%.
 15. The emulsion-based filling composition according to claim 14having a total fat content of from 15 to 25 wt. %, preferably 17 to 23wt. %, more preferably from 19 to 21 wt. %.
 16. A filled bakery productcomprising a baked product and a filling composition according to claim14.
 17. A sandwich biscuit or sandwich soft cake comprising the fillingcomposition of claim 14 between first and second biscuit layers.
 18. Achocolate shell containing the filling composition of claim
 14. 19. Amethod for preparing a filled chocolate product, the method comprising:providing a filling composition comprising at least one powdered foodingredient and a fat blend comprising from 15 to 67 wt. % of a temperhard fat and from 85 to 33 wt. % of a liquid oil, tempering the fillingcomposition to form a tempered filling composition, depositing thetempered filling composition on to at least one surface of a chocolateproduct, wherein the surface of the chocolate product has a temperatureof less than 28° C., and optionally coating the filling composition withchocolate, actively cooling the deposited filling composition, whereinin the step of depositing the tempered filling composition, the temperedfilling composition is deposited having a temperature of from 20 to 30°C. and in the step of actively cooling the deposited fillingcomposition, the deposited filling composition is cooled to atemperature of at least 4° C. below the deposition temperature, whereinthe temper hard fat has a solid fat content of at least 60 wt. % at 20°C., wherein the liquid oil has a solid fat content of less than 15 wt. %at 20° C., and wherein the fat blend has a saturated fatty acid residuecontent of from 16 to 42 wt. % and a polyunsaturated fatty acid residuecontent of less than 40 wt. %, based on the total weight of fatty acidresidues of the fat blend.
 20. A method for preparing a filled chocolateproduct, the method comprising: providing a filling compositioncomprising at least one powdered food ingredient and a fat blendcomprising from 15 to 67 wt. % of a temper hard fat and from 85 to 33wt. % of a liquid oil, tempering the filling composition to form atempered filling composition, depositing the tempered fillingcomposition into a mould or onto a surface to form a discrete body ofdeposited filling composition, wherein the mould or surface has atemperature of less than 36° C., actively cooling the discrete body,optionally reheating the discrete body to a temperature of less than 31°C., preferably to from 20 to 29° C., at least partially enrobing thediscrete body with tempered chocolate to form a filled chocolateproduct, and cooling the filled chocolate product until the temperedchocolate has solidified, wherein in the step of depositing the temperedfilling composition, the tempered filling composition is depositedhaving a deposition temperature of from 20 to 33° C. and in the step ofactively cooling the deposited filling composition, the depositedfilling composition is cooled to a temperature of at least 4° C. belowthe deposition temperature, wherein the temper hard fat has a solid fatcontent of at least 60 wt. % at 20° C., wherein the liquid oil has asolid fat content of less than 15 wt. % at 20° C., and wherein the fatblend has a saturated fatty acid residue content of from 16 to 42 wt. %and a polyunsaturated fatty acid residue content of less than 40 wt. %,based on the total weight of fatty acid residues of the fat blend.
 21. Afilled chocolate product obtainable by the method of claim
 20. 22. Themethod according to claim 20, wherein the method further comprisespackaging the filled product.